I thought it might be fun to go through a few genres and see what novels/stories my fellow posters consider essentials for the genre. It would be nice to compile a list of 10 or so works in each genre. Here are a few to start:
Essential Science Fiction:
Foundation by Isaac Asimov
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Neuromancer by William Gibson (subgenre Cyberpunk)
Essential Fantasy:
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
Essential Horror:
Carrie by Stephen King
The Call of Cthulhu by H.P. Lovecraft
Essential Westerns:
Essential Mysteries:
Essential Romance:
Essential Historical Fiction:
The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
The Power and the Glory by Irving Stone
This list you mention is likely posted in the form of top 100 lists on various blogs. Some additions that come to mind include
Scifi: Dune, Hitchhikers, Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate, 1984
Fantasy: harry potter, song of ice and fire, thomas covenant, wheel of time, dresden files
Jim Butcher's Dresden Files definitely deserve a place, as well as his Codex Alera series. And for quite possibly one of the most amazingly complex, breathtaking worlds ever created Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen series.
I could spend a good while listing just the best of the books I've read in sci-fi and fantasy, but those are definitely a good starting point.
"Hard" Sci-Fi
Rendevous with Rama by Arthur C. Clark
"Soft" Sci-Fi
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess (the one with all 21 chapters)
Cyberpunk
Snowcrash by Neal Stephenson (Gibson is great, but I feel the cyberpunk genre peaked with this novel).
I simply can't decide on what I would pick for Fantasy. I think as a standalone I would have to say The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
Romance
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Historical
Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell
Horror
Lovecraft, Poe, Lovecraft, Poe... and then Bram Stoker as a nightcap.
And if you want something truly strange read The Sandman by E.T.A. Hoffmann.
If you want the "essential" novels and short fiction of a given genre, see if said genre has awards.
If you're writing sf and f, read all the Hugo and Nebula winners. Read the SF Hall of Fame. Read Dangerous Visions. There, I've just given it to you. Do that, and you'll have an understanding of the genre most writers don't.
Mystery fiction has it's set of awards, as does horror fiction.
With mainstream, you can always read the Pulitzer Prizes and National Book Award Winners, as well as the PEN/Faulkner Awards and the other short fiction awards.
And finally, if your goal is to write bestselling fiction (an admirable goal, I do believe), then find a list of the best-selling novels over the past 10 years.
I think Lord of the Rings is a good choice for Fantasy but there are others. And that's not just because I like it. But because it is used as an example and has inspired other writers.
For western I would put in Zane Grey and Louis L'amour .
Someone named Laurie Mann compiled most of the winners and nominees of the Hugos, Nebulas, Stokers (for Horror), and World Fantasy awards on a site called AwardWeb.
To go directly the awards sites, see below.
The Hugo Awards
Nebula Awards (see links to the left for current nominations)
World Fantasy Awards
The Science Fiction Hall of Fame is also online.
*Edited - I can give stage directions but can't keep left and right straight for everyday use.
[This message has been edited by aspirit (edited June 01, 2011).]
Fantasy: The Lord of the Rings is pretty much the Alpha and Omega of modern fantasy---in some way everything that came after is either a homage to it, an imitation of it, or a reaction to it.
Nobody's brought up the Essential Mysteries: I'll bring up a couple---Agatha Christie, particularly Murder on the Orient Express and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. On the American side, try Ellery Queen, particularly Calamity Town and Cat of Many Tails.
Historical Fiction: Gone With the Wind.
There are other works in all the categories, that I see as essential...I'll probably bring them up as things develop...
Sci-fi
Edgar Rice Burroughs-Tarzan/John Carter of Mars(movie coming out sometime)For me growing up he was it. And today I still want to write stories that make young people read, lose themselves in a story.
Western
Louis L'Amour - Read them all, Came on them late into my life early twenties. Hard to choose my favorite, but I think - Riley's Luck.
Zane Gray - Older but still classic, and has the time period down and the language, god, how i love the language back then.
There are other books that set genres, In western I would say Lonesome Dove saga was a new defining series. Sci-Fi-everyone I knows recommends Ender's Game, You have Dune.
**The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume I: The Greatest Science Fiction Stories of All Time, Chosen by the Members of the Science Fiction Writers of America.
**The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume Two B: The Greatest Science Fiction Novellas of All Time Chosen by the Members of the Science Fiction Writers of America (SF Hall of Fame)
**The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume Two A: The Greatest Science Fiction Novellas of All Time Chosen by the Members of The Science Fiction Writers of America (Sf Hall of Fame)
The site Metacritic.com does something similar with movies and TV shows where both professional and amateur reviewers can offer reviews that rank the film/show. Professional reviewers can give ratings between 1-100 while amateurs can rank between 1-10 and the work itself is rated based on the aggregated vote.
For all SF/F writers, that distinction has already been done for you.
The Nebula Awards are voted on by members of the SFWA -- namely, other writers.
The Hugo Awards are voted on by the fans.
Read them both, and you've given yourself one hell of an education.
"Essential" to my mind means "definitive" in the sense of literally defining the territory. Which would include a lot of work that I don't particularly like, but which in its day was necessary to the growth and scope of the genre, to building the foundation that we all take for granted today.
Such works may not really be suitable for novice readers of a genre, tho -- as they're often just not all that interesting to someone from a later era. Frex, Jules Verne is both "essential" and "definitive" but to most modern readers, would probably seem rather quaint and not all that interesting, thus not really a good recommendation in a starter list.
[This message has been edited by Reziac (edited June 01, 2011).]
Any story that has a mission to Mars could be considered derivative - but if you have a good story based on conflict of characters and interesting plot it may be considered.
So, instead, I'd suggest that you instead identify consistently award-winning, prolific authors who have helped define the genre or sub-genre. Then determine which of their novels sold the most copies and won the most acclaim.
When I think of it in these terms, these authors come to mind:
SF/F
Arthur C. Clark
Isaac Asimov
William Gibson
Ben Bova
Ray Bradbury
Robert Heinlen
Frank Herbert
Douglass Adams
Orson Scott Card
Phillip K. Dick
FANTASY
J.R.R. Tolkien
C.S. Lewis
Ursula K. LeGuin
Piers Anthony
[This message has been edited by Osiris (edited June 02, 2011).]